TEXT: Jeremiah 29:11 ‘I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a hope and a future.’

DAILY READING • John 10:22-42; 2 Chronicles 9; Psalm 74

James Watt was a Scottish inventor and mechanical engineer, renowned for his improvements in steam engine technology. One day, when he was a little boy, Watt sat by the window watching the steam come from a tea kettle on the stove. Tired of watching it, he looked out of the window and saw a colt walking beside its mother as she was drawing the plow about the garden. The boy said to himself that if a colt could be harnessed, like the mother, and made to work, Why not steam? From that time on, young Watt was always thinking about steam and how it could be harnessed as energy and put to work.

Fascinated with mechanics, as he grew up, he initially worked as a maker of mathematical instruments, but soon became focused again in steam engines. And with time, he began to work on improving the steam engine already in existence at that time, because it proved to be grossly inefficient. Through much study and experimentation, years later, he began to manufacture his own steam engines, which many people found to be very efficient. He later formed an engineering company that manufactured steam engines and in no time became very wealthy as a result. His ability to effectively harness steam became part of the machinery that made the industrial revolution in Britain a possibility. And today, a unit of measurement of electrical and mechanical power – the watt – is named in his honour.

Just as James Watt learned how to harness steam into a usable energy, we can learn to harness whatever appears like heat or steam in our lives into energy that works for us. We all face pains and problems at some points in life, the question though is, how are we going to deal with them? We always have a choice; we can decide whether to take the opportunity and grow, or whether we will miss it and groan.

We find in the genealogies of the Old Testament, a man called Jabez. Chronicles 4:9-10, says  “Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother named him ‘Jabez’ saying, ‘Because I bore him with pain.’ Now, Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, ‘Oh, Lord, bless me indeed and expand my territory. Keep Your hand on me, and keep evil from me, that I may not cause pain!’ And God granted him what he requested.”

Jabez in the Hebrew means “One who causes pain.” Pain seemed to be identified with Jabez even from birth. But he decided to turn his pain into power by engaging God’s help. The prayer of Jabez is very inspiring and challenging on how we approach God with our problems. Jabez prayed for God to bless him and give him a change of story and God did.

Uncomfortable situations should lead us to cry out to God for help. Like Jabez, pain can push us towards our greatest breakthroughs. You can live with the name and the reputation life tries to enforce on you, or you can decide to live the way God has preordained for you. Your present does not have to determine your future. No matter what things may seem like, God always have good plans and good thoughts towards you.

He says in Jeremiah 29:11 ‘I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a hope and a future.’ No matter the occasional heat and steam the enemy tries to bring your way, determine to live the good and great life God has ordained for you. Ask the Holy Spirit for the wisdom to turn your stumbling blocks into stepping stones. There is always a way out. Do not settle for the obvious. We do not walk by sight, but by faith. Beyond what may look negative, there is a seed of an equivalent benefit. Ask the Holy Spirit to show it to you.

Do not blindly accept the pressures, learn to look for the turnaround trigger. There is something you can do that will suddenly turn everything around. And often the key is prayer. Jabez prayed and God turned around his situation and enlarged his territory. So can it be for you. Though it may seem like life has handed you lemons, you can still turn them into lemonades. The truth is that if you want to accomplish the purpose God has for your life, you are going to have to overcome some things. Through the help of God, you can be more than a conqueror in every situation. As you call upon God like Jabez did, surely your pain will be turned into power and your territories will become enlarged.

PRAYER:

Lord, through the help and counsel of the Holy Spirit, please show me the right way to go at every crossroad of life. Thank You Lord for turning around every negative situation for me and enlarging my territory in Jesus’ name.

QUOTE:

Your attitude always determines your altitude in life. – WORDBITE 222